Alibi
by Five Dollar Mixtape
Summary: She hasn't heard anything since the day She was born. She has no knowledge of Her home, the cats around Her, or what they are supposed to stand for... until She starts seeing some strange cats — ones that only She can see or hear.
1. allegiances & chapter one

**[Echoes Of Distant Past]**

 **Leader:** **The Tom Who Is Understanding** — A massive dark brown tom with green eyes.

 **Medicine Cats:**

 **The She-Cat Who Cats Admire** —A brown she-cat with white markings and green eyes.

 **The She-Cat With Scars** —A dark ginger she-cat with murky, golden eyes.

 **Warriors:**

 **The Tom Who Cares** — A brown tom with ice blue eyes.

 **The She-Cat Who Plays** — A tortoiseshell she-cat with hazel eyes.

 **The She-Cat Who Runs In The Wind** — A cream-and-dark brown she-cat with blue eyes (Apprentice: _The Tom Who Pranks_ ).

 **The She-Cat Who Leaps** — A white she-cat with gray markings and green eyes.

 **The Tom Who Listens** — A brown tabby tom with amber eyes.

 **The Tom Who Grins** — A dark brown tabby tom with green eyes.

 **The Tom Who Fights** — A russet-furred tom (Apprentice: _The Tom Who Leaps_ ).

 **The She-Cat Who Is Lithe** — A long legged, pale gray she-cat with hazel eyes (Apprentice: _The She-Cat With Energy_ ).

 **The Tom Who Lurks** — A black-and-white tom with pale green eyes.

 **The She-Cat Who Smiles** — A ginger tabby with white patches and pale green eyes.

 **The Tom Who Is Large** — A large, ginger tabby tom with pale green eyes.

 **The She-Cat Who Growls** — A calico she-cat with bright green eyes.

 **The Tom Who Hates** — A black tom with amber eyes.

 **The Tom Who Smiles** —A black-and-white tom with bright blue eyes.

 **Apprentices:**

 **The Tom Who Leaps** — A golden-brown tom with amber eyes (Mentor: _The Tom Who Fights_ ).

 **The She-Cat With Energy** — A small black, "golden", and russet she-cat with copper eyes (Mentor: _The She-Cat Who Is Lithe_ ).

 **The Tom Who Pranks** — A dark ginger-and-white tom with one blue eye and one green eye (Mentor: _The She-Cat Who Runs In The Wind_ ).

 **Queens:**

 **The She-Cat Who Cares** — A black-and-white tabby she-cat with hazel eyes, mother of The Tom Who Is Her Age and She/Her.

 **The She-Cat Who Fought** — A dark brown she-cat with amber eyes, mother of The Tom Who Falls and The Tom Who Is Ageing.

 **Kits:**

 **The Tom Who Is Her Age** — A brown-and-white tom with blue eyes.

 **She/Her** — A brown-and-black she-kit with blue eyes.

 **The Tom Who Falls** — A thick-furred, dark brown tom with green eyes.

 **The Tom Who Is Ageing** —A dark brown tom with amber eyes.

 **Elders:**

 **The Tom Who Is Dark** — A black tom with hazel eyes.

 **The She-Cat Who Was Strong** — A muscular, reddish-brown she-cat with blue eyes.

 **[Claws Of Guiding Ancestors]**

 **Leader:** **Cyantri'ide** — A white tom with pale blue eyes.

 **Medicine Cat:** **Ripple** — A silver tom with blue eyes.

 **Warriors:**

 **Willow** —A gray she-cat with green eyes.

 **Nightly** — A large, jet black tom with dark blue eyes.

 **Gust** — A long-legged, brown tabby she-cat with fiery gold eyes (Apprentice: _Elysium_ ).

 **Lee** —A silver tom with blue eyes.

 **Mecca** —A bright ginger she-cat with blue eyes (Apprentice: _Arson_ ).

 **Claws** — A gray tom with frosty blue eyes.

 **Faded** — A white she-cat with pale green eyes that can appear to be different colors.

 **Ender** — A large black she-cat with dark blue eyes (Apprentice: _Shade_ ).

 **Pearl** — A pearly white tom with rare, pinkish-blue eyes, albino.

 **Apprentices:**

 **Shade** — A dark gray-and-black tom with golden eyes (Mentor _Ender_ ).

 **Arson** — A ginger she-cat with emerald green eyes (Mentor: _Mecca_ ).

 **Elysium** — A white, black, silver, and ginger tom with golden eyes, though in certain lights his pelt can appear gray or golden (Mentor: _Gust_ ).

 **Queens:**

 **Ladybug** — A russet-and-black she-cat with stunning blue eyes, mother of Charm and Lucky.

 **Sapling** —A slender and light brown tabby she-cat with hazel eyes, mother of Shiver, Seedling, and Charr.

 **Kits:**

 **Charm** — A black she-kit with turquoise-blue eyes.

 **Lucky** — A russet-and-black tabby tom with blue eyes.

 **Shiver** —A blue-gray she-kit with hazel eyes.

 **Seedling** — A black tom with golden eyes.

 **Charr** — A large brown tabby tom with golden eyes.

 **Elders:**

 **Umber** — An umber-brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

 **Storm** — A gray, black, and white tom with blue eyes.

 **Warm** —A white tom with hazel eyes.

 **[Warriors Of Gained Strength]**

 **Leader:** **Star** — A white tom with ginger spots and yellow-green eyes.

 **Medicine Cat:** **Feather** — A ginger-and-white she-cat with blue eyes.

 **Warriors:**

 **Birdie** — A calico she-cat with green eyes.

 **Sharik** — A gray-and-black tom with pale yellow eyes (Apprentice: _Ryzeke_ ).

 **Tawny** — A large, tawny she-cat with green eyes.

 **Venom** — A black tom with acidic green eyes.

 **Brownie** — A brown-and-white she-cat with brown eyes.

 **Kiki** — A long-furred, russet she-cat with green eyes.

 **Sakura** — A pale ginger she-cat.

 **Nikine** —A long-legged ginger, almost golden tom with amber eyes.

 **Tres** — A black, ginger, and silver tom with yellow eyes.

 **Snow** — A white she-cat with green eyes.

 **White** — A tall white tom with deep amber eyes.

 **Mhina** — A ginger she-cat with blue eyes.

 **Spirit** — A dark ginger tom with amber eyes.

 **Apprentice:** **Rzyeke** — A scarred, tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes (Mentor: _Sharik_ ).

 **Queen:** **Haven** — A dark gray she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Dark and Deer.

 **Kits:**

 **Dark** — A white-and-gray she-kit with green eyes.

 **Deer** — A black-and-gray tom with amber eyes.

 **Elders:**

 **Cherry** — A dark ginger she-cat with yellow eyes.

 **Thunder** — A dark brown-and-ginger tabby tom with amber eyes.

* * *

The sound of silence was the only sound that She had ever heard. Most cats moved their jaws in strange and confusing movements that others seemed to understand, and responding back in the same manner. Those weren't things that She understood, but She could wrap her head around others — tail movements and muzzle points and ear flicks were universal, and that was the language She spoke.

She thought the fact that She didn't understand those mouth-movements was obvious, but apparently it wasn't. Cats would try to speak with Her like they talked with everyone else, but they would be slowed down, as if that would help her to understand better. Every time it happened, She would narrow Her eyes and flick a useless ear until they gave up and wandered away. The cat who did this the most often was The Tom Who Is Her Age, and the other kits in her den that seemed to draw amusement from his actions. Almost everyday — sometimes multiple times a day — he would slow his mouth-movements down to a crawling pace. Was it _supposed_ to be funny? If it was, then She didn't know why.

The Tom Who Is Her Age was unfortunately a common presence in Her life, and even more insulting, they looked alike. He had pale brown fur, with white paws, chest, and belly. A few strands of his fur were black, but they weren't noticed unless a cat was really paying attention to his pelt, even though the dark color stood out in his pale fur. They did, however, mix well with the dark blue color his eyes were becoming.

She, on the other paw, was covered in much darker black fur. Unlike the tom, She had no white in Her pelt. Her tail, some fur around Her paws, underbelly, chest, throat, and chin were a much darker shade of brown. While The Tom Who Is Her Age's eyes were only getting darker, Her's were starting to become paler.

But he wasn't around, now. Everyone seemed still and idle, and The Tom Who Cats Look Up To even more so. He lied in the center of the clearing where cats seemed to spend most of their time in (although, sometimes cats would leave, and when She tried to follow She would be stopped by one of the Older Cats, and even by The Tom Who Is Her Age once). Her eyes were sharp, but She doubted they needed to be for her to see that he wasn't breathing.

She turned, blinking up at the cat that always seemed to be watching over Her — a black-and-white tabby she-cat. No other cat in the group She lived in had that pattern in that color, so She could only assume that she was special. Unlike Her and The Tom Who Is Her Age, The She-Cat Who Cares had hazel eyes that stood out from her mix of pale and dark fur.

She waited until The She-Cat Who Cares' eyes met Hers, when she breathed in deeply enough to make sure that her flanks were clearly moving. Then, she gestured to The Tom Who Cats Look Up To with a flick of her tail and shook Her head, hoping that Her confusion conveyed itself on Her face. The She-Cat Who Cares' face fell and she shook her head. She folded a useless ear backwards before The Tom Who Is Her Age slipped between the older cat's front legs and did his slow and exaggerated mouth-movements again. The She-Cat Who Cares lifted a paw, cuffing him gently around one of his ears.

The She-Cat Who Cares did her own mouth-movements — ones that were fast and, based on the look on her face, must have been scolding in nature. The Tom Who Is Her Age only shrugged, but She could detect shame on his face and in his scent. The She-Cat Who Cares shook her head once more, but she didn't make anymore mouth-movements. Instead, she directed her kits toward the group of of cats that were lining up in front of The Tom Who Cats Look Up To.

One by one, they dipped their heads and made their mouth-movements, then backed away and allowed the next cat in line to do the same thing. The three cats joined the line, behind a she-cat that She knew well.

Her fur was a mix of dark colors, mostly black and brown, with a few bright ginger patches in the fur. Her eyes were the same hazel as The She-Cat Who Cares, but they were full of a happy and playful light that the elder she-cat's didn't have. The tortoiseshell constantly played with Her when the other kits wouldn't — and she even played with the other kits. With some strange power that She, Herself didn't possess and could barely even comprehend, The She-Cat Who Plays was able to make every kit play together.

She balanced on three paws, tapping The She-Cat Who Plays' hind leg with a forepaw. The tortoiseshell turned her head, blinking down at Her as She did Her best to display Her confusion. The older cat dipped her head for quite a bit longer than a nod — a motion that She had learned was one that was used to display gratitude or respect. With wide eyes and an open jaw, She nodded her new understanding.

Out of the corner of Her eye, She saw The Tom Who Is Her Age give an almost confused facial expression and do his mouth-movements. The She-Cat Who Plays must have replied to him, because when She'd turned Her head to face him he had a surprised look on his features.

The line trailed on. Slowly, each cat displayed their gratitude to The Tom Who Cats Look Up To. Before either of her kits, The She-Cat Who Cares dipped her head and did the mouth movements, then flicked her tail and padded a short distance away to wait. Next, The Tom Who Is Her Age copied their mother. When he was done, he looked at Her and stuck his tongue out (She _knew_ that he was mocking Her, and She made a mental note to get back at him later) before he made his way towards the She-Cat Who Cares.

She stepped forwards, and like the cats before Her had done, She dipped Her head. _I'm not really sure what your job is,_ She thought, _but I know cats think you're important. So, thank you, The Tom Who Cats Look Up To, for whatever it is you do._ She raised Her head, padding over to The She-Cat Who Cares and The Tom Who Is Her Age with a skip in her step.

* * *

To Her, dreams were paradise. There was none of The Tom Who Is Her Age, The She-Cat Who Cares and The Tom Who Cares were trusting Her to be alone, and The She-Cat Who Plays was a constant presence.

In this dream, however, The She-Cat Who Plays was nowhere to be seen. Carefully, She raised a paw, and She stared into the unmoving water before her. While it wasn't exactly a common sight, every once in a while an Older Cat would bring back a fish. She hadn't had the chance to try one yet, but She was constantly wondering what one would taste like. Lately, that had been what Her dreams were about.

Out of the corner of Her eye, She saw something. Eyes wide, She snapped Her head in that direction and stared, but She saw nothing. Ultimately, she decided that it must have just been the wind making her surroundings shift, as wind tended to do, and turned Her attention back to the water. She saw a flash of scales reflecting against the sunlight, and instead of using Her paw to capture Her prey, She dove into the water.

* * *

Accidentally, She had kicked The Tom Who Is Her Age — something which caused him to wake up quite unpleasantly. In return, he woke Her by leaping on Her, his forepaws landing on Her unguarded belly. She woke with a cough, panic from the remnants of Her dream — she had thought she'd started to drown — floating through Her mind before she spotted the young tom. He sat across from Her, his shoulders shaking in amusement. The panic quickly left her, and She turned over to ignore the brown-and-white tom. Just barely, She could feel the vibrations traveling through the ground and towards Her as his small mass stormed out of the den. She ignored him, snuggling deeper into The She-Cat Who Cares' soft fur.

Eventually, She got up. She stretched Her paws in front of Her and let out a silent yawn before She padded out of the cozy den, Her eyes narrowed for a heartbeat against the bright sunlight.

The place where the group lived was large. Behind Her, was where the mothers and the other kits lived. There were two separate dens for the cats who could leave the area — one was closer to the entrance and the other was across from the entrance. The one closer to it had Younger Cats inside then the one across from the entrance. Next to the den for the Older Cats was where The Tom Who Cats Look Up To slept, and on the other side of the entrance from the den for the Younger Cats where two cats slept and was full of weird smelling leaves. Beside the den where She slept was where the cats even older than the Older Cats slept. A large boulder sat in the center of camp.

She wasn't allowed in any of the other dens, as She had learned when She tried to enter them. She watched as a group of cats lifted up the limp body of The Tom Who Cats Look Up To out of camp, his tail dragging against the ground as they moved him. She watched with a tilted head, before Her eyes met a familiar tom and She brightened, running towards the larger cat.

The Tom Who Cares was a brown tom, the color matching the brown on Her own pelt. His eyes were the same dark blue that The Tom Who Is Her Age's was quickly becoming. In return, is eyes brightened when he saw Her.

She ran across the clearing as fast as She could, greeting The Tom Who Cares with a tail wave as she skidded to a stop in front of him. He responded in the same manner, easily swishing his tail back and forth. She didn't have much time to react before The Tom Who Is Her Age slammed into Her side, making Her stumble while The Tom Who Cares narrowed his eyes at the smaller tom.

She lifted Her head and watched as The Tom Who Cares made his mouth-movements — unlike the other cats in the group, he didn't do them as often. Around some cats, the ones he spent more time with, like the kits and The She-Cat Who Cares, he would do them more often, but other than that he seemed to not see the need to make them (She would argue that there was _no_ need for them). His were also smaller, and he didn't do them for as long as the other cats, like he was trying to make them more succinct than everyone else.

She turned Her attention away from The Tom Who Cares and crouched, Her tail flicking from side to side, before She pounced. Her paws met the soft fur of The Tom Who Is Her Age, and the two tumbled around on the ground. She ended up on the ground, with the small tom above Her, pinning Her to the ground. He made his slow mouth-movements again, a grin on his face. Frustrated, She lifted a paw and pressed it against his muzzle, stopping the mouth movements. The Tom Who Is Her Age narrowed his eyes, and out of the corner of Her eye, She could see The Tom Who Cares shaking his shoulders and twitching his whiskers from amusement.

* * *

 **april 28th, 2019: my cat gave assistance in the edits to this chapter, but unfortunately, they could not stay. as much as i appreciate his creativity, "silveropllllll" is not a word.**

 **you tried, Moon Unit. you tried.**


	2. chapter two

There were two other toms in the nursery, both of them a bit younger than The Tom Who Is Her Age and Herself. Mainly, She paid attention to their mother.

She was a she-cat that was as a large as The She-Cat Who Cares. Her pelt was a dark brown, darker than the brown in Her pelt, but not so dark it was nearly black. Her eyes were a bright amber, and she watched over the four kits like a hawk. Before her kits were born, there was a battle with a different group of cats. The She-Cat Who Cares had shoved both Her and The Tom Who Is Her Age into the nursery, and She watched as The She-Cat Who Fought drove off invading cat after invading cat, even with her round belly, then filled with her kits.

Both of her kits shared her brown pelt (one more so than the other), but each had a different eye color. One acted more like the Old Cats — he was constantly tired and always did his mouth-movements, looking at the cats around him as he did so. A few times, he had tried to include Her, but She only narrowed Her eyes and flicked a useless ear until he stopped. She called him The Tom Who Is Ageing, and unlike his brother, he had the amber eyes of his mother.

The other was energetic, constantly playing with The Tom Who Is Her Age and tripping over his own paws. More than once, She had watched has he tripped, slammed his chin onto the ground, and pull himself back up before he went back to playing without even the slightest sign on pain in his expression. He had green eyes that were always shining with a deeper light inside of them — She couldn't place exactly what it was, but she knew it was positive. She called him The Tom Who Falls.

She watched as the three toms leapt and play fought, giving out clumsy paw strikes and bites that wouldn't hurt. The Tom Who Is Ageing paused in his step, closing his amber eyes for a heartbeat and shaking his head. He made some mouth-movements, then he padded over towards Her and laid down. He flicked an ear at Her as he rested his head on his paws. The other two toms looked at him for a heartbeat, before shrugging their shoulders and going back to their play fight.

The Tom Who Is Ageing had pressed himself against Her, much like the way She did to The She-Cat Who Cares when She was tired. She doubted that She was as warm as The She-Cat Who Cares, and She was slightly surprised that She was the one he wanted to take a nap next to rather than going to find his mother, but She didn't argue. She curled Her tail around Her paws, Her sharp eyes watching every movement that the still-fighting toms made.

It wasn't much longer after that when The She-Cat Who Cares and The She-Cat Who Fought padded out of their shared den, looking at the kits in front of them. The She-Cat Who Fought looked down at Her and The Tom Who Is Ageing, and she dipped her head and licked her kit between the ears. The Tom Who Is Ageing fidgeted, curling a paw around Her leg and pulling it out from under Her, making Her fall onto the ground. A dull pain shot up Her jaw, and She could feel Her throat vibrate for a short moment — not quite in a purr, but similar enough — but She didn't know why. The Tom Who Is Ageing's head shot up, and he blinked at Her as She pushed herself back to her paws and shook out Her pelt.

He started making his mouth-movements, before The She-Cat Who Cares interrupted him with her own. The small tom snapped his head towards her, and nodded after a heartbeat. He looked back at Her, and dipped his head as if he was thanking her, but She assumed that he was trying to apologize. She flicked an ear and nodded in acceptance. The Tom Who Is Ageing looked up at The She-Cat Who Cares, one of his ears folded backwards in confusion as he did his mouth movements. The She-Cat Who Cares responded, and The Tom Who Is Ageing looked back at Her with a smile on his face. She gave him a shaky one in return.

The She-Cat Who Fought gestured with her head to look towards the center of camp, and She did so. Out of the corner of Her eye, She saw The Tom Who Is Ageing with a confused look on his face, before he looked towards the center of camp.

The two Old Cats were sitting in front of the boulder, their eyes scanning the gathered cats — when had they gathered? She must have missed it. She stiffened when their eyes met Her, but they quickly moved on and allowed her to relax. One Old Cat was a black tom, with hazel eyes that made her think of acid. The other was a lithe she-cat. With long legs, blue-green eyes, and pale gray fur with a reddish pigment added to it, She thought that the Old Cat would have made a foreboding fighter when she was younger. She didn't know the two Old Cats well — once, She had followed the other kits into their den, but they'd all given her strange looks as the Old Cats did their mouth-movements. She hadn't gone back since. She called the tom The Tom Who Is Dark, and the she-cat The She-Cat Who Was Strong.

It felt like it took a while, but the two cats started doing their mouth-movements. For them, the movements were slow and deliberate, like they were being careful with how their jaws moved. The gathered cats were still, and She watched the Old Cats intently. One of the cats in the crowd's head shot upwards, and he stood up. Slowly, he padded up to the Old Cats, who dipped their heads to him before he leapt onto the boulder.

The tom was massive. With long legs and a broad build, he was a cat that She would avoid if She didn't know him. His muzzle was crisscrossed with different scars, and one of his ears was torn. His pelt was the same color as The Tom Who Falls — both had thick, glossy brown fur and green eyes. This tom stopped by their den often — he would play with The Tom Who Falls and The Tom Who Is Ageing, and would speak with The She-Cat Who Fought. More than once, She had seen him watching cats make their mouth-movements, nodding periodically, and he'd even taken the time to converse with Her before. She called him The Tom Who Is Understanding.

The Tom Who Is Ageing balanced on his hind legs, placing his forepaws on Her shoulder and started shaking Her. He did his mouth-movements, and he had an excited look on his face. The Tom Who Falls bounded over to him, pouncing at him so that they rolled around on the dirt with excitement and happiness. She looked up, giving a confused look to The She-Cat Who Fought, hoping that she would do something about her kits. The She-Cat Who Cares smiled at her, slowly shaking her head.

Cats padded closer to the boulder, smiles on their faces, as they did their mouth-movements. The Tom Who Is Understanding responded to each one. The She-Cat Who Cares stood, gently pushing Her forward with a paw. She bounced to Her paws dutifully, following after The She-Cat Who Cares and flicking a useless ear as The Tom Who Is Her Age fell into place next to Her. They weaved through the crowd easily, and when the other cats noticed them they moved to make way. The She-Cat Who Cares looked up at The Tom Who Is Understanding, and made her mouth-movements. The tom on the boulder responded, before The Tom Who Is Her Age made his mouth-movements, and The Tom Who Is Understanding did his own back. Finally, the large, scarred tom turned his eyes to Her.

She smiled up at him, and waved Her tail in a hello. The Tom Who Is Understanding gave Her a small smile of his own, returning the tail wave.

The Tom Who Is Her Age looked exasperated, making large and exaggerated mouth-movements and sitting back on his haunches. Surprisingly, instead of The She-Cat Who Cares, The Tom Who Is Understanding replied first, doing the tail wave again, but not to Her. Hesitantly, and with narrowed eyes, The Tom Who Is Her Age looked at Her and waved his tail in a hello.

She smiled, and She could feel Her throat and chest vibrating in a purr. Happily, She waved 'hello' back.

* * *

One of the Younger Cats liked to play at night, when the bugs that lit up would fly around camp and when cool breezes would comb through Her fur. The Younger Cat would chase them, trying to capture them in her paws.

She thought that the Younger Cat was pretty. While most of her pelt was black, her ears were a dark russet and patches of bright gold fur covered her pelt — well, it wasn't _really_ golden. In the full light of day, it was obvious that it was ginger, but in the light of the bugs or dawn or dusk, it was most certainly golden. It looked like she shimmered with every paw step she took. Her copper eyes complimented the dark fur colors, and made the mock-gold in her pelt shine more. At first, She considered calling her The She-Cat Who Is Pretty, but after watching her bounce around with the other Younger Cats, She started calling her The She-Cat With Energy.

She watched as The She-Cat With Energy stalked a bug, balancing on her hindpaws and trying to capture it between her forepaws, then turned Her attention to Her own hunt. She padded forward, keeping Her eyes on one of the bugs, and She pounced. When She landed on the ground, She checked under Her forepaws for the bug, but it was nowhere to be found. She looked upwards, and there it was, flashing above Her head as if it was mocking Her. She leapt and swung Her paw in an arch, but She missed the bug yet again. She looked over at The She-Cat With Energy, who was looking up at her with curious eyes for a heartbeat.

Then, The She-Cat With Energy sprang into action, bounding forward and batting at a bug just above Her head. Happily, She joined in, balancing on Her haunches and reaching Her paws up to the sky to paw at the bug. When it floated away peacefully, She set Her sights on another. She paused in Her charge, staring at a cat that She hadn't seen before and one that She didn't recognize.

The she-cat was only a bit larger than Her, with black and dark brown tabby fur that appeared messy. She knew that if The She-Cat Who Cares saw Her like that, then She wouldn't be playing any games for the rest of the afternoon, since Her fur had to be groomed to the older she-cat's standards. The tabby in front of Her had two different eye colors — one of them was an emerald green and the other was an ice blue. She looked duller, more faded, compared to the rest of the colorful world.

The tabby's head snapped upwards when she noticed Her staring, and she quickly rose to her paws and rushed away, diving into the trees that surrounded camp.

She looked over Her shoulder at The She-Cat With Energy, who was giving Her a strange look, and had an ear folded back in confusion — was she wondering what She was looking at? The She-Cat With Energy did a mouth-movement, then She leapt at another bug.

The strange cat was quickly pushed out of Her mind as she rejoined the game.

* * *

 **Guest(s):** thank you both(?)! i'm pretty proud of how this is turning out myself, so despite some slow updates, i hope that you keep enjoying it!


	3. chapter three

The water was flowing around Her, but it didn't matter, because She could breathe. It felt like Her useless ears were plugged with something, but She didn't stop to think about it — it made sense, after all. Water wasn't nothing, and since She was submerged in it, it had to be in Her ears. The water didn't feel like much, only a slight pressure around her as She drifted with the current.

Soon, She got bored and made Her way out of the river, shaking out Her pelt, but froze when She realized something.

Her ears were _working_. The sounds of birds chirping and wind blowing and prey moving and the water flowing sounded like cats yowling right in Her ear. She dropped into a crouch on the ground, Her paws covering Her ears to protect them from the onslaught, but the action only muffled the sounds rather than give way to the blessed silence She was so used to.

She opened one of Her eyes to see a tom standing in front of Her, a fair distance away. Most of his fur was a mix of ginger and white patches, but his face was pure black. His eyes were a bright emerald green, and he stared at Her with a confused look on his face. Slowly, She lifted a paw off of one of Her ears, and winced as the loud sounds attacked Her full-force once again. He opened his mouth, something that told Her that he was about to do his own mouth-movements.

"Who are you?"

* * *

She woke with a start, covering Her ears that were left sore from the loudest sound She had ever heard. Slowly, She lifted Her paws off of Her ears, relieved beyond words could express to hear nothing. She leapt to Her paws, shaking The She-Cat Who Cares awake with a paw. Lazily, the older cat opened one hazel eye and looked at Her.

She frantically batted at one of Her ears with a paw, Her eyes wide with fear and confusion. She waited for the look of understanding, but none came. She batted Her ear harder, desperate to get Her point across. As she moved, The She-Cat Who Cares slowly gained a concerned expression. Carefully, she stood, and padded over to The She-Cat Who Fought with her kit on her heels. The tabby shook The She-Cat Who Fought awake with a paw, and did some mouth-movements to the other she-cat once her eyes had blinked open. The brown cat nodded, and The She-Cat Who Cares moved to pick up her daughter by Her scruff.

The She-Cat Who Cares easily padded across the clearing, towards the Leaf Den. Before they even entered, She screwed up Her nose from the harsh scent of the leaves that reached Her. The She-Cat Who Cared didn't seem to be affected, and she didn't hesitate to dive inside the den.

The Leaf Den was dim, but that could also be attributed to the late night. At the front of the den, pushed to the side, were the nests of the Leaf Cats. She narrowed Her eyes to get a better view of the shadowy part of the den, only to see empty nests, and behind that, crooked plants in front of a hole in the wall. Here, the scent of herbs was nigh overpowering.

The She-Cat Who Cares set Her on the ground, and padded over to the one of the Leaf Cats. As soon as She was on the ground, She continued Her movement of batting Her ear with Her paw, waiting for The She-Cat Who Cares to notice Her and to understand what She was trying to tell her. The Leaf Cat stood, her dark form shaking the other Leaf Cat awake, and limped into the light.

She was tall and lithe, looking like a she-cat that could easily weave around anything in her path. Her dark ginger fur was long, and her pelt was criss-crossed with plenty of scars, making Her wonder if Leaf Cats were trained to fight. Her paws were white, and a part of one of her forepaws was missing, which She thought must be the cause of her limp. Her eyes were a murky gold. She called her The She-Cat With Scars.

The other Leaf Cat was covered with brown fur, except for the intricate white markings that covered her back — maybe she was a tabby, She pondered. Her eyes were a bright green, and unlike The She-Cat With Scars, this Leaf Cat had no scars to be seen except for a small nic in her ear. She had watched her give out what She assumed were orders to cats younger and older than herself, so She called her The She-Cat Who Cats Admire. After all, if the group didn't admire her, why did they listen to her?

The She-Cat Who Cats Admire's eyes were filled with a concerned light as She did her movement, but She couldn't stop. The three cats didn't understand Her yet, and until they did, She wouldn't stop hitting Her ear with a paw. The other, seemingly a bit younger, Leaf Cat made a mouth movement, and The She-Cat Who Cats Admire stepped closer and lifted a paw towards Her and gently pulled Her paw away from Her ear.

But She hadn't gotten Her message across yet. She lifted Her other paw, and started hitting Her other ear with it. The She-Cat Who Cats Admire shook her head, looking back at The She-Cat Who Cares and The She-Cat With Scars as she did her mouth-movements.

The She-Cat With Scars' eyes widened, and she made her own mouth-movements. She wondered if that was a look of understanding, or a look of surprise. Either way, She stopped hitting Her ear. The other cats in the Leaf Den made a wide-eyed look of their own, before The She-Cat Who Cats Admire took a few pawsteps back. She made her mouth-movements, staring at Her.

She narrowed Her eyes. Why couldn't cats understand that She didn't understand what those movements meant? She remembered Her dream of the tricolored tom, whose mouth movements had made that horrible sound. Was that what they were? She _hoped_ that wasn't what those mouth movements were.

The She-Cat With Scars flicked her tail, a motion that She knew meant _come here._ She rose to Her paws, and bounded towards the Leaf Cat. As she stopped in front of the ginger she-cat, The She-Cat With Scars looked at The She-Cat Who Cares and shook her head. _No?_ She thought. _No what?_ She sent Her confused look to Her mother, who gave Her a small smile without the slightest trace of happiness to it. The She-Cat Who Cares flicked her ears, in a way that She could only assume meant 'hearing'.

Her eyes widened, and she nodded — only partially in agreement, but mostly in relief. She bounded towards The She-Cat Who Cares and nodded more, the movement becoming even quicker — _Yes! That's what happened to me! I heard!_

The she-cats did their mouth-movements, until The She-Cat Who Cares picked Her up by the scruff again, leaving the Leaf Den to return to their own den.

* * *

One of the Older Cats would fight with one of the Younger Cats in the middle of where the group lived every once in awhile, showing off his fighting skills and seemingly giving advice to the Younger Cat.

The Older Cat was covered in an almost red pelt, with darker spots in some places of the fur. He was covered with muscle, and had a long tail that was constantly swishing to help keep his balance. His blue eyes complimented his russet fur, and while he looked intimidating, he always seemed kind when he wasn't fighting. She called him The Tom Who Fights.

The Younger Cat was a golden-brown tom, with neat paws and a lithe build. His eyes were a deep amber. When he fought, he tended to leap, every jump showing off the long and corded muscle under his fur. She called him The Tom Who Leaps, but She had started to notice that whenever he leapt, The Tom Who Fights would stop their fight.

The two cats were experts in their craft, easily maneuvering themselves to attack and evade. She watched with sharp eyes, doing Her best to absorb every movement. Her watching was put on hold as She was licked between Her ears.

She looked up at The Tom Who Cares, who was taking his time to smooth Her fur down. A rumbling purr was coming from his chest, the vibrations easily reaching the kit he was bent over. She tried to squirm away from the tom's tongue, but he wrapped a large and unmoving paw around Her, forcing Her to stay still and endure Her torture.

After what felt like an eternity, She was released, and gently guided towards the space in front of the large boulder. She was met by The Tom Who Is Her Age, who looked to be in a similar state of disgruntlement as Her. She sent him a confused look — tilting Her head and folding an ear backwards. He narrowed his eyes, sticking his tongue out at Her, before focusing his attention in front of him and upwards. The Tom Who Is Her Age nudged Her paw with his own, and She looked in the same direction.

The Tom Who Is Understanding was looking down at the two from the top of the boulder, with a look on his face that seemed almost fond. His green eyes trailed over the cats that She hadn't noticed gathered around them, before he started doing his mouth-movements, and his eyes focused on The Tom Who Is Her Age as he did them. She almost stiffened as The Tom Who Is Understanding moved his eyes to Her, continuing his mouth movements.

He was giving Her a strange feeling, one that She couldn't describe. She only knew that She didn't like it.

He raised his eyes, and She relaxed as he spoke to the crowd. She could see a pale brown shape out of the corner of Her eye, and She turned Her eyes to look at it better. He reminded Her of the tabby She had seen when She was playing with The She-Cat With Energy, in the fact that he was duller and more faded than his surroundings. He was covered in pale brown fur without a marking or even a different strand of a different color, and his eyes were a dark blue.

She turned Her eyes away from the tom as The She-Cat Who Cares, The Tom Who Cares, and The She-Cat Who Plays surrounded Her and The Tom Who Is Her Age with rumbling purrs, mouth-movements, and licks.

* * *

 **Little Feathered Flame:** nah, she just had a bad run-in with a fox — gotta hate those things, am i right? i don't have her form on-hand, though, since she was submitted to me. i can't find her in the doc where i put all the other submitted characters for this, so i gotta go looking for her.

 **ExplodingQuasar:** i'll have to get back to you for who else you submitted! i've got a list at home, and i can tell who submitted who by what their real names are. unfortunately, i'm not at home now, but i think you also submitted The She-Cat With Scars and The Tom Who Listens — i'll have to double check to make sure, though.

 **OneOfTheCrow-thereigo:** i'm glad it meets your expectations! i know the feeling of submitting characters for something that never gets made (i _swear_ i'm working on In The Court Of The Vermilion Cat, but that needs some rewriting, too), so whenever i ask for characters i want to make sure that whatever it is i'm making is good. it might take a while to come out, but i like to think that it's worth it in the end!


	4. chapter four

She could hear again, and She hated it. It was _loud_ — much, much too loud. Her ears were pressed against Her head, and Her eyes were screwed shut in an attempt to block out all the noise.

"That's her," a voice mewed, making Her flinch at the sudden noise. "She just disappeared last night."

"She saw me yesterday," a new voice commented. "When she was awake."

"Guys, be quiet," a third voice chimed in, and silence from the cats followed. Only the nature sounds flooded Her ears now, but they were quieter than the voices. "I think…" this time, while still loud, the voice made a point to speak in a quieter tone, "remember that tom that came here a while ago? The white one that flinched at everything?"

"The Deaf one?" the second voice whispered. "You think she's Deaf?" There wasn't a response, but She guessed that there was a nod or a shake of head.

"Let her adjust," She heard instead.

And, slowly, She did.

The river was what had adjusted to Her new hearing first — it wasn't too loud, or high pitched. It was a low, calming noise that soon stopped hurting Her ears. Next, was the breeze — while it was making the leaves, branches, and grass rustle, in Her ears it was loud and annoying. The birds were high pitched, and She found that sound annoying, but still quieter.

Slowly, She opened Her eyes, looking at the three cats in front of Her. She recognized all of them. There was the brown tabby from the day before, the tricolored tom from last night's dream, and the pale brown tom from earlier that day. The tabby and the brown tom were brighter here, compared to when She saw them when She was awake.

"Hi," the tabby mewed softly. She took a few slow pawsteps forward. "It's a lot of sounds to get used to, huh?" she asked kindly, but she didn't give her time to respond before she gestured to the tricolored and brown toms in turn. "My name's Aspen, and these are Bandit and String." Bandit waved his tail, smiling, and String dipped his head to her.

"Does she know her name?" Bandit asked.

"She just got her name," String told the group, much to Her surprise as She perked Her ears in interest. "You know that big, scarred tom — Pine?" Aspen and Bandit nodded. "Apparently, in The Echoes, he names kits after a moon, so that he can name them after their personality. She was named today," he explained.

"And her name _is_?" Bandit urged.

"Owl," String told them. "Pine said something about her being smart for her age, and how she was always watching everything."

 _Owl,_ her mind repeated. _Owl, not She or Her. Owl._

* * *

She woke to the feeling of the air pushing itself out of her lungs. Owl's eyes shot open, and she turned her blue eyes towards The Tom Who Is Her Age. His paws were on her belly, and a smirk was on his face. She pushed him off of her with her hind paws, adjusting herself to get comfortable once more. After a few heartbeats, The Tom Who Is Her Age flopped down on top her, stretching out his paws towards The She-Cat Who Cares.

She let out a huff of air, but she didn't move The Tom Who Is Her Age. The two laid there for what felt like a very comfortable and sleepy season, but eventually she shoved the brown-and-white tom off of her and stretched. She bounded out of the nursery, her eyes adjusting to the light.

Her eyes met with a tom that was hiding in the shadows of camp. His fur was short, thin, and prickly. While most of his body was black, his muzzle and his paws were white. His eyes were a pale green color that only two other cats in the group shared. His body was thin and slender, and while he looked tiny, she guessed he was much stronger than he appeared, as a lot of the Older Cats were. She called him The Tom Who Lurks.

She bounded towards him, quickly settling in next to the short-furred tom. She tucked her paws neatly under her chin, and looked up at The Tom Who Lurks with wide eyes. He gave her a long, examining look, before he blinked slowly — she took it as a greeting — and looked back towards camp. She curled her tail close to her side and watched the Younger and Older Cats in camp.

The She-Cat With Energy was speaking happily with another Younger Cat as they waited near the entrance. The tom was golden-brown, with a white tail tip, chest, and fore paws. His fur was littered with scars, the thick ones easily standing out and thin ones easily hidden under his fur, even if they occasionally peeked out from under his pelt. One of his eyes was a leaf green, while his other was a midnight blue. One of his ears were missing, and the other was only half missing. Owl had watched as he played pranks on others, and as he walked with a limp, but she couldn't even begin to tell where it had come from. She called him The Tom Who Pranks.

The She-Cat With Scars padded out of the Leaf Den, flicking her tail as she left and padded towards the entrance. The She-Cat Who Plays sat with a few other cats — The She-Cat Who Jumps and The Tom Who Hates.

The She-Cat Who Jumps was a ginger, almost golden-furred she-cat with black markings on her back. Her black tail was shorter than most cats', while her white paws contrasted the rest of her fur. Her golden fur was marked with darker ginger stripes, and her eyes were green. She was constantly jumping at almost everything that happened around her. The Tom Who Hates had seemingly permanently messy fur. Battle scars were scattered throughout the black fur, and he had one white toe on one of his paws. His eyes were a cold amber color, and it seemed to her that he hated almost everything.

Owl watched as The Tom Who Hates made a snarling face at The She-Cat Who Jumps, who (unsurprisingly) jumped. The Tom Who Hates didn't give off any pleased emotion, but The She-Cat Who Plays gave The Tom Who Hates an angry expression in return — something that surprised Owl, as she had never seen anything like that from her.

The Tom Who Is Large padded towards the group with The She-Cat Who Runs In The Wind on his heels. The Tom Who Is Large was an abnormally large, ginger tom with darker orange tabby stripes. His fur was long and fluffy, adding to his large frame. He was, however, he was a very short cat. He was one of the other cats in the group that had the pale green eye color. The She-Cat Who Runs In The Wind was slender, with cream fur and dark brown fur patterns. Her eyes were a clear, pale blue, and her features were dainty — Owl imagined that most cats would describe her as beautiful. She also looked like a cat that would be very fast, which was why she'd given her the name.

The Tom Who Is Large led the group out through the entrance. For a heartbeat, The She-Cat Who Runs In The Wind paused to make mouth movements towards The Tom Who Pranks. When he nodded, she rushed after the group. The She-Cat With Energy stood and padded into the Younger Cat's den. After a few heartbeats, she emerged, with The Tom Who Leaps looking tired and bedraggled behind her.

The Tom Who Fights and The She-Cat Who Is Lithe — a pale gray she-cat with a lithe build, long legs, and hazel eyes — padded towards the three Younger Cats. For a few heartbeats, the five cats made mouth-movements, until they were met by The Tom Who Smiles — a black-and-white tabby tom with bright blue eyes. He was constantly smiling — Owl wouldn't be surprised if he even smiled when he was asleep. The six cats turned and padded through the entrance of camp.

A she-cat stopped in front of Owl and The Tom Who Lurks. She was tall — taller than most she-cats and even some toms. Her pelt was a light ginger, with darker orange stripes to her fur. Her muzzle and paws were white, and she was the last cat in the group that had pale green eyes. While her fur laid flat over her slender form, it was pretty long, and she was sure that it took her a while to groom it that way. Owl called her The She-Cat Who Smiles, due to her tendency to smile at every cat she passed — which, really, just made her seem prettier.

The She-Cat Who Smiles hesitated for a heartbeat at the sight of her, but she smiled at Owl anyway. Owl gave her a smile of her own back, her tail tip flicking back and forth. The older she-cat made mouth-movements towards The Tom Who Lurks, and he made his own back. For a while, that was all that they did, until The She-Cat Who Smiles looked at her and made her mouth-movements. Owl narrowed her eyes and flicked a useless ear as The Tom Who Lurks responded.

"Well, that's harsh," she snapped her head towards a she-cat she hadn't seen before, and who she was positive _hadn't_ been there before — a silver tabby with hazel eyes. Her tail was wrapped elegantly around her paws, and she looked faded and dull compared to the tree next to her. "Deaf cats are plenty smart." Owl almost flinched at the sound of her loud voice. She looked back at The She-Cat Who Smiles and The Tom Who Lurks, who weren't looking at the new cat.

She decided that Aspen, Bandit, String, and whoever this new cat was were a different kind of cat — one that, for some reason, only she could see. She gave the tabby a confused look.

"My name is Silver," she introduced, before rising to her paws. "News about you has spread quickly, young bird." She turned and padded into the forest before she could even think of responding. _I'm not a bird,_ she thought, flicking an ear in confusion.

Owl rose to her paws and padded away from the two cats, waving her tail in a goodbye. She padded towards The She-Cat Who Cares and The Tom Who Is Her Age, who had just emerged from the nursery. She stopped in front of them, only to be tackled by the tom. She ended up crushed under the largest kit's weight, and watched as The She-Cat Who Cares made her mouth-movements from where her head was pressed against the ground, stuck in place by her brother's paw.

 _Wait…_ She _recognized_ that mouth movement — it was one that was _extremely_ close to the one Aspen had made in her dream. Owl opened her mouth to speak, but the word didn't come out even close to as fast and easy as it had for Aspen.

"Sound," she meowed.

* * *

 **Guest:** They are quite the mouthful, i've gotta agree with you there. Owl likes to define cats by what they do, and i like to think of her as quite the little people watcher — part of why i named her Owl is because she'd be "owl-eyed" a lot of the time. my goal is actually _to_ confuse the readers a little, since being Deaf without a way to communicate or understand what's going on around you is probably pretty confusing. anyways, i'm glad you've been enjoying it so far!


End file.
